Hold the Line! - Five Parsecs from Home Solo Campaign - Turn 1 Touch Down
Welcome to the first Campaign turn and skirmish in Hold The Line! My Five Parsecs from Home Solo Campaign. Things pop off quickly in this campaign, so without delay let's play the game!'
If you want to see how the crew was put together, check out the crew creation post here.
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Vinon stands on the deck of the Thrush, the old girl was cheap to buy and cheaper to run. It doesn’t have much in the way of amenities but it can get the crew here and there. He named the crew The True League, a name that sounded cool to Vinon but doesn’t mean anything. Who are they true to? The client? Each other? They haven’t even done a single job yet.
The view screen of the Thrush shows the planet of Etera. A backwater but an important planet, the crystals that form naturally around the planet are essential in the production of all types of electronic components. It’s that reason Unity has contracted out the Independent Guild of Mercenaries to provide additional security for the planet, and why The Swarm is poking around.
A familiar face pops up on the view screen. Fenris Modi, sector Leader for the Independent Guild. “Vinon, you dog. Thanks for answering the call. We got jobs for you down here and there is enough money for everyone to make some scratch. Now, you need to pay for a Guild license to take on jobs. I’ll transfer the contract and payment details. See you soon Vinon.”
Vinon scoffs, the Guild always gets paid, even before a shot is fired. Oh well. One thing he has learnt is that you need to spend money to make money.
Henna steps onto the deck, she is quiet and quick. Vinon trusts her with his life, and that is why she is his second in command. “Vinon, the crew is ready to hit the ground running. I do trust you have a job waiting? The coffers are already running low and our loan is already building interest.”
Vinon’s gruff voice answers her, “Don’t worry Henna, I think we will have lots of work to do on this planet.”
The Thrush puts down on Etera City and the crew immediately starts unpacking equipment and checking weapons. Vinon starts handing out assignments.
“Henna and I are going to head to the Guildhall to see if we can grab a job. Sone, Ukan, and Txewi, get some practice working as a team. We are new together so we need to get used to working as a unit. Pair, take a walk around town, and see what you can find.”
Vinon and Henna head to the Guildhall and meet with Fenris to talk jobs. Fenris welcomes the two with open arms “Vinon and Henna! Just like the old days. But here we don’t have space centipedes breathing down our necks, right? Well, I’m glad to have you. We got a job that should be right up your alley. A group of punks has been causing hell out in the countryside. The local authorities have contracted us to clear them out and that is where you come into the mix. Head to their camp, and drive them off. The authorities said they stole something of value, so grab that and you’ll make some extra scratch. Any questions?”
“Nope, thanks, old mate. We should have this wrapped up easily.”
“Great Vinon, just be warned, there are a lot of those bastards out there. So be safe, right?”
On the way back to the ship to collect the crew, Vinon receives a message from their combat robot Pair. “Captain Vinon I’ve been accosted by local gang members who call themselves the Space Dogs. I’ve not engaged them but I have been run off. Requesting assistance, please. “
“Shit Pair, fine. I’ll send Ukan to grab you. Then you to hurry your ass off, we got a job and you’ll be late now.”
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| Pair exploring the city. |
Vinon spits. Two crew members are down and they haven’t fired a shot yet. Great. They head to the waypoint Fenris gave them. A quiet camp. They spread out and take stock…
Battle
Battle Maps from Frag Maps: https://www.patreon.com/fragmaps/posts
Tokens for the crew and a lot of the combatants are from: https://janloos.com/
Be sure to check them both out. They do some great work!
Vinon and the crew stalk into the camp quietly and look for cover. Vinon knows his crew is professional, even if they haven’t worked together before. The wind kicks up dust but after finding some good positions, there still is no sign of the punks they are here to drive off.
Twexi motions to Vinon and uses hand signals to relay what he is seeing.
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| Crew gets set up for battle, minus the two latecomers |
Eight combatants. Five with pistols, two with rifles, and one with a power claw.
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| Going to be a hard fight so outnumbers by punks. |
Great, thinks Vinon. Outnumbered eight to four until the others show up. He flashes the Engage at distance sign to Twexi. Maybe if they keep them at distance, they can delay them until Pair and Ukan show.
Vinon hears the rifle crack of Twexi’s gun and the punks start to return fire. Before he knows it, the camp erupts into a firefight. Vinon knows the sound well, he knows what to do and prays his crew does also.
A shout of pain and Twexi goes down, hit by a rifle shot from one of the damn punks. Sone whoops in triumph as he scores a hit on one of the punks charging their position.
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| Sone getting a kill. |
Vinon levels his rifle and drills a punk who is dressed in a particularly colorful outfit, hopefully, the leader. He hopes they will start running soon.
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| Vinon cutting down the enemy leader |
The radio crackles “Captain, this is Pair. I am on the battlefield and hurrying to your position. Ukan is right behind me.”
Thank the gods Vinon thinks. Now the numbers are starting to even out. The crew and the punks engage in a vicious exchange of gunfire. A couple of punks go down, and then Sone takes a bullet and drops.
The punks start to break and run. Vinon sees there are only a couple more on the field. Pair and Ukan join the firefight but not before Henna is knocked out.
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| Panicked Punks make a run for it. |
Ukan dispatches the last punk by charging them and blasting away with his machine pistol at close range.
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| Ukan ends things just the way he likes to. With a machine pistol. |
Post Battle
Vinon immediately runs to Henna to see if she is alright. She coughs and says “I’m OK Vinon, just took a shot to the helmet and got a bit dizzy. No lasting damage I think.”
Txewi is also not a casualty, but his rifle was shot out of his hands and will need to be repaired.
Sone is one lucky guy. The bullet hit him in the chest but got lodged in an old medal he carries around. Vinon doesn’t think he will get lucky like that again.
Surveying the battlefield they collect a couple of weapons and grab the package the punks stole.
The True League heads back to town and collects their pay. It's enough to keep the lights on for another week or so. Leaving the Guild Hall Vinon spots a familiar face. “Cormac is that you?”
“Sure is Vinon. Great to see you on Etera. I’m here with a crew doing contracts for the Independent Guild also. If you need anything, shoot me a call and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Will do Cormac, see you around.”
Vinon and the crew settle back into the Thrush and recuperate and train after their first successful battle against the punks. Vinon tunes into the newsfeed.
This is Etera News 5, your vid-station for planet-wide news. Tonight on News 5, a new mercenary crew calling themselves the True League has made its stamp on Etera, dispatching a group of lawless punks on the outskirts of Etera City. We will watch their progress as it develops. The Independent Guild of Mercenaries has made serious progress in cleaning up the planet.
In political news - The local Unity Commander provides an update on the increased defence assets they are installing across the planet against a possible Swarm invasion. The Etera Administration maintains its political pressure on the Unity for increased autonomy in local trade affairs.
The local organised crime gang called The Space Dogs continues their war of aggression against the newly arrived Mercenary crews.
Meanwhile, independent ship captains are reporting more sightings of Swarm warships on the outskirts of the Etera system. Could this be a prelude to invasion? Stay tuned after a word from our sponsors.
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Thanks for reading! I hope you like this format, so please let me know if you do or know of any ways to make it look better!
If you'd like to look at my lightly edited campaign notes, you can view them here!
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